Washington (CNN) - Republican leadership including House Speaker John Boehner and the Republican National Committee were quick to respond to Friday's release of the August jobs report. And 2012 GOP presidential contenders weren't far behind.

Just minutes after the Labor Department reported that employers added no jobs last month and the unemployment rate remained at 9.1 percent, RNC Chairman Reince Priebus put out a statement saying, "Today's unemployment numbers are another painful reminder that America still awaits economic leadership from President Obama. He spent his summer fundraising and golfing, promising to lay out a jobs plan only after his Martha's Vineyard vacation-all while nearly 14 million Americans remained jobless."http://podcasts.cnn.net/cnn/services/podcasting/audio/politicalnotebook/pn0902.mp3CNN’s Briana Keilar and Bob Costantini chat on the White House lawn about weak employment numbers and look ahead to the president’s address to Congress. Plus, Norm Ornstein considers what Mr. Obama must get through to the American people, if not Congress.

Priebus also called on the president to change course when he gives a major address on jobs next Thursday in a speech before Congress.

"The president needs the courage to admit his regulatory regime is the biggest road block to job creation. America's job creators cannot hire workers while handcuffed by regulations, crushed by mandates and threatened with taxes. If the president refuses to change course, America's unemployed with be the victims of his failure," adds Priebus.

Boehner released a statement saying he looked forward to hearing the president's ideas on boosting job creation.

“Private-sector job growth continues to be undermined by the triple threat of higher taxes, more failed ‘stimulus’ spending, and excessive federal regulations," he said.

“President Obama is slated to address Congress next week and I look forward to hearing his ideas to bolster private-sector job creation. The American people are still asking, ‘Where are the jobs?’"

And Mitt Romney appeared to be the first Republican presidential candidate to react to the jobs numbers.

In a statement put out 15 minutes after the jobs report was released, the former Massachusetts governor, who's making his second bid for the White House, called the report "unacceptable" and said it's "further proof that President Obama has failed."

"Two days after I offered a plan with serious solutions that would create jobs and get our economy going, we learn of yet another month with zero job growth," said the former Utah governor and former U.S. ambassador to China.

"There is no clearer sign that the President has failed and the theatrics around his far-too-late jobs speech demonstrate that he has no real plan to change course. In a country with 307 million people, zero job growth is unfathomable. It's time for America to compete again and it's time for a new president."

Huntsman spelled out his jobs plan Wednesday in a speech in New Hampshire. Late Thursday night, the Wall Street Journal, in an editorial, praised Huntsman's proposal. The Journal is very influential among fiscal conservatives.

Romney doesn't formally spell out his plan to create jobs until Tuesday in Nevada, two days before the president speaks about job creation in an address to Congress. But he gave a preview of his speech Friday morning, when he addressed the Republican National Hispanic Assembly in Tampa, Florida, saying, "I will make business taxes competitive with other nations, eliminate burdensome regulations and bureaucracy, and support America's workers instead of its union bosses."

About an hour after the release of the jobs report, Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann put out a statement.

"Mr. President – we gave you $2.4 trillion in new spending and the American people got nothing in return. Today's jobs report showing that the economy created no jobs in the last month and unemployment at 9.1 percent is further evidence that President Obama's failed economic policies are not working and have completely stalled job growth," said the congresswoman, who is also running for the GOP presidential nomination.

Also criticizing the president was former Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania. The GOP White House candidate said, "This morning's jobs report is another sad sign that President Obama's economic policies would need to improve dramatically to even be described as incompetent."

Santorum released his jobs plan in July.

Businessman Herman Cain also decried the dismal report saying, "Sadly, the fact that zero jobs were created last month is only fitting for this administration, which is led by a President with zero leadership, zero plans, zero results and zero understanding of basic economics. And the American people are worse off because of it," in a statement.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry, the front-runner in the most recent national polls in the battle for the GOP nomination, put out a statement that touted job growth in his state.

"President Obama's job-killing polices continue to wreak havoc on the American economy. The poor national jobs picture stands in stark contrast to Texas' pro-jobs, limited government policies which helped make us the top job-producing state in the nation," said Perry.

"Our country cannot afford four more years of economic misery, and I will continue to travel the county talking about ways to get American working again."

Former House Speaker and current GOP presidential candidate Newt Gingrich weighed in on the jobs report in an e-mail sent to supporters.

"Stagnant economic growth is the inevitable result of President Obama's commitment to class warfare and bureaucratic socialism," Gingrich said.

"The president routinely demonizes successful Americans, arguing they need to be punished with higher taxes. Is it any wonder that entrepreneurs are hesitant to invest, create new wealth and jobs?"

soundoff(134 Responses)

LIP

A committee meets to set agenda for upcoming speech: "Okay then, we have nothing new to serve up and job numbers are in the tank, so let's look for something the Repubs are doing and scheudle my speech for that same night and same exact time. That whole thing will prove to be a distraction and people will feel sorry for me and blame the Repubs and won't even notice I have nothing new to say." Committee votes and it is unanimous and guess what, the media bought it (would have anyway...they are all liberals except for FOX) and one thing leads to another and the speech is rescheduled and everyone hates those Repubs for having the foresight to set their agenda months in advance.
It's all about political posturing by the Democrats...

September 2, 2011 10:50 am at 10:50 am |

AlaskaPalin

Well jobama had time to for immorals (abortionists, homosexuals) he fulfilled their agenda. He did not concern himself about jobs and now its to late. your color might have been a problem (racism) but it was your social policies that destroyed your power. If you fire your progressive advisers and employ teapartiers as advisers you will win the heart of the american people once more.

September 2, 2011 10:51 am at 10:51 am |

dave

The President took 10 days. The Republicans took 5 weeks. And how is Obama supposed to create jobs when the House will do all it can to block whatever he proposes. Boehner and Cantor are holding our economy hostage in order to win an election. Treasonous in my view. They both must go, and we can only hope the voters in their districts will realize it.

September 2, 2011 10:52 am at 10:52 am |

concerned

How can anyone fix our economy with no support. Pres. Obama has met resistance at every turn. There will not be any substantial job growth, until companies start making things here in the U.S. and it is really simple, if people are working and making money – they spend it here. What I see is a GOP that is for big business that won't hire in America and a president who is trying to get jobs anyway he can

September 2, 2011 10:54 am at 10:54 am |

Bill from GA

Job growth numbers are so important to repugs when the are bad. They, and most Americans, continue to ignore the huge gain in employment during President Obama's first year, as the Stimulus was working. We were LOOSING over 750,000 per month in December of 2008; by summer of 2009, we were GAINING hundreds of thousands a month. Yet the lying repugs claim the stimulus did notwork. They don't want America to grow jobs, as long as Obama is President.

September 2, 2011 10:56 am at 10:56 am |

kakaraka

Republicans have highjacked this economy. The more they cut, the more jobs are lost or not created. They are insane.

September 2, 2011 10:59 am at 10:59 am |

Republicans Are The American Taliban

Why hasn't RNC Chairman Reince Priebus showed America his long form birth certificate yet? Why has he spent millions of dollars keeping it a secret? What is he hiding?

September 2, 2011 11:00 am at 11:00 am |

Ed Texas

What have the Repub controlled Congress done to create jobs? Nothing. They aren't interested in issues which impact us on a day to day basis. Their gaols are guns for all, no abortions or women's rights, and hell no to gay marriage, and of course obstructing our government in order to get Obama defeated in 2012.

September 2, 2011 11:02 am at 11:02 am |

ingrid

I see that there are some Republicans on here that do not want to take responsibility for the MAJOR role of the GOP in this mess. Not even counting the preexisting role they had that created this economic situation in the first place with deregulations and toxic assets, Lets look at their current work such as they debt ceiling debacle which led us to loose our AAA rating. Then, their part in NOT putting forth any jobs legislation as they promised in the mid-term elections Where is the jobs legislation that they promised??? Are tax cuts their solution for everything? Let's get jobs created by focusing on infrastructure and jobs investment.